When Lehigh County pays for a cremation, the remains rest in an urn that is filed away in a cardboard box in a storage room in the coroner's office -- but if Coroner Daniel A. Buglio has his way, the county will succeed in returning as many remains as possible to the families of the deceased.

Bodies can go unclaimed due to difficulties locating next of kin, but increased funeral expenses also mean that some families find themselves unable to pay for arrangements. Those who die in Lehigh County, and their families, now have dedicated advocates in the form of two bereavement coordinators hired last spring.

"Somebody in the throes of grief doesn't want to sit and Google," said Alexandra Cortese. Her work as a bereavement coordinator means ensuring that family members have all the information they need to navigate their role as next of kin.

The coroner's office is also taking steps to raise funds to help families who otherwise couldn't pay for services, one of the leading reasons bodies go unclaimed.

At Buglio's request, the county recently passed a resolution to create a fee schedule for long-term care facilities, inpatient hospice facilities, hospitals and home hospice agencies that request the removal of an unclaimed body so that those parties could share in the county's costs. Those fees start at $660.

The money generated by that fee could then be used to help families in financial hardship, Buglio said, adding that he is working on an income verification process that could be used to determine who might qualify for assistance arranging services.

When a death is recorded in Lehigh County, identifying next of kin is the first step for Cortese and fellow bereavement coordinator Jessica Tirpak. If the coroner's office does not have a lead from police, that process involves database searches and internet sleuthing.

Figuring out how to pay for a funeral can be just as much of a puzzle as the social media deep dives that can be required to find next of kin.

"Their ability to finance a funeral is becoming less and less," Cortese said, emphasizing that increasingly expensive funeral services can place an unexpected strain on already stretched household budgets.

Funeral costs vary widely. Cremation alone can run $700, and that does not include paperwork fees or transportation costs, Cortese said. Arranging services can push costs well into the thousands.

County cremations are an option of last resort. If the county cannot connect with next of kin or the family is unable to pay, taxpayers finance the cost of cremation. When that happens, the death certificate and remains stay with the county.

"There's no purpose for us to keep them here," Buglio said.

Buglio's been with the Lehigh County coroner's office for 26 years. Since taking the helm in 2022, he's worked to clear the storage room backlog, reduce the number of county cremations and expand options for families facing financial strain.

"I don't want to deprive a family from having their remains if they can," Buglio said.

Cortese and Tirpak walk families through various options for financial assistance, including veterans organizations, church groups, medical donations, and online fundraising drives.

Bereavement coordinators can also call funeral homes and get quotes. Some families have history with a particular funeral home, but Cortese said prior arrangements are becoming less common and families are more spread out geographically, increasing the odds that next of kin are not familiar with local options.

Some Lehigh County funeral homes offer donated or discounted services to families, Buglio said. The county does not have the facilities to perform cremations, so it also has to contract with local funeral homes for county cremations. In those cases, invoices can run $700-$900, Buglio said.

Buglio also plans to host a group burial, likely in May or June, for the 15 or so unclaimed remains left in storage.

Both Tirpak and Cortese have criminal justice degrees, but Tirpak said that academic experience isn't the primary factor that makes them effective bereavement coordinators.

"It's the people we are -- how we talk to people, how we treat people," Tirpak said.

A Lehigh County resident who recently worked with Tirpak and requested to remain anonymous to protect the privacy of her family said making arrangements for an estranged parent proved particularly difficult, and Tirpak provided invaluable guidance and empathy.

Due to the estrangement and lack of prior arrangements, the process felt like making arrangements for a stranger and it was hard to know where to start, she said, adding that Tirpak provided nonjudgmental support.

"You know she was there not to push, but to encourage and let me make my own decisions, so it didn't feel forced," she said. "It didn't feel gross, it didn't feel so factory-like, and that is -- that was super, super, super important for me."

Tirpak has continued to check in with the family and her level of kindness and follow through has made the family feel valued, the county resident said.

"At no point did she ever make me feel like a number, a formality, a business, or something to get through," she said.

Tirpak and Cortese have worked to familiarize themselves with different faith traditions and build relationships with local religious groups to better understand the scope of customs that families might follow.

They bring experience from the social work field: Tirpak also works as a substance abuse counselor, and Cortese has worked in child welfare. Part of their role is letting family members of the deceased know how to access services such as grief groups.

Bereavement coordinators become the face of the coroner's office for grieving families, and Tirpak said their role is one that must be conducted with compassion, respect and dignity.

"We genuinely care about the people we serve," Tirpak said.

Sometimes that care might be sitting with someone while they cry, Cortese said. Other times that could mean investigating "cold cases" to return remains to family members who have gone a decade or more without knowing what happened to their loved one.

"You know there is somebody out there who is looking for those answers," Cortese said.